giftguide 20231013-RGB-MSOL - Flipbook - Page 46
RAISING
Christmas Cheer
Last fall, a two-week tour of epic proportions crossed North
Unsurprisingly, next year’s White
Carolina. It stopped in more than a dozen towns and was
House Christmas tree also has
attended by thousands of people throughout the Old North
North Carolina roots. The 2024
State, literally “from Murphy to Manteo.”
tree will come from Cartner
The star of the tour, however, wasn’t a singer, celebrity,
or even a person. It was Ruby the Red Spruce, a 78-foot
evergreen tree bound for the United States Capitol as its
annual Christmas tree.
Christmas Tree Farm in Newland,
just south of Grandfather
Mountain past Valle Crucis.
Christmas tree farms like these
Ruby was the first North Carolina tree in 26 years chosen
as the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. It’s an honor that bears
special distinction since this Christmas tree, among all in the
nation, is called “The People’s Tree.”
abound in the mountains of North
Carolina with more than 1,300
comprising 40,000 acres of the
state’s pristine high-elevation
landscapes. This makes North
North Carolina often provides Christmas trees that appear in
Carolina the nation’s second
prominent locations, including the White House. Since 1970,
largest Christmas tree producer,
a North Carolina Fraser fir has been the centerpiece of the
accounting for 20% of the United
White House’s holiday décor 14 times. That’s far more than
States’ Christmas trees.
any other state.
Many farms offer choose-and-
This year will mark the 15th time North Carolina furnishes
cut options that are available to
the White House Christmas tree. Cline Church Nursery in
everyone and include fun activities
Fleetwood, N.C., will present this year’s prize-winning tree
for the entire family. There’s no
to First Lady Dr. Jill Biden in November. Fleetwood is in
better way to usher in the Holidays
Ashe County, which neighbors Watauga County, home of
than taking a trip to a choose-
the Original Mast General Store.
and-cut farm in the mountains,
locating the perfect tree with a cup
of hot cocoa in hand, and maybe
even heading out on a Christmas
hayride with Santa once the search
is accomplished. Who knows?
Perhaps the tree you select for your
own living room is growing right
beside a sapling that will one day
stand in the president’s home.
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VISI T MAST GENE RAL STORE . COM
FIND CHOOSE
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NE AR YOU